maisfeeka | More on Kate

The news article about Kate's death.

Did I mention my friend and I were heading up to Keene on Monday to see her? That's how we found out about her death before it made the papers. My friend was contacting people to see if they'd be around and asked Kate's office mate, Peter (from the article) if he'd be around and if he could ask Kate if she would be.

Phillips, Keene's link to Old Hollywood, dead at 94

Anika Clark
Sentinel Staff

Kate Phillips, Keene's connection to Old Hollywood, died Friday at the age of 94 after a short period of failing health.

Phillips died at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth Hitchcock Keene of natural causes, according to her son Goodlin "Bill" Phillips.

As Kay Linaker - her name before marrying Howard Phillips in 1945 - she acted in more than 50 films, sharing the silver screen with Hollywood legends such as Ginger Rogers, Vincent Price and Henry Fonda.

She also wrote for radio, television and film, earning her way into cinema immortality when she penned the 1958 cult classic "The Blob." (Theodore Simonson is jointly listed on the film's credits for the screenplay).

But according to Peter J. Condon, a former colleague of Phillips' when she taught in Keene State College's film studies department, she never put on airs.

Despite her impressive credentials, Phillips "was always on the same level of whoever it was she was talking to. ... She just treated everybody like they were all her friends," said Condon, who had been Phillips' student.

Phillips quit acting during World War II and joined the Red Cross. Stationed in New York City, she met Howard Phillips, who was serving in the Army Air Corps at the time.

The two eventually settled in Dublin after having two children, Goodlin and Regina. Her daughter, Regina Paquette, works as a secretary at Keene Middle School.

Phillips "was as good as Joan Crawford. There's no reason that she couldn't have had a similar career," said Keene State film department Chair Lawrence M. Benaquist. "She didn't care. She was one of those people who just took what came along."

Condon added: "Of course, she was very glamorous in the studio shots that I've seen of her, but she was more family-oriented. ... She was more interested in teaching."

Phillips scratched that itch by teaching drama and public speaking at Dublin School, drama at the former Peterborough High School and by working at Rindge's Hampshire Country School for children with emotional difficulties.

"She loved working with young people," said Benaquist.

In the early 1980s, she took a job at Keene State College, where she taught screenwriting, screen acting and courses about classic Hollywood cinema.

"She had a can-do attitude that was very infectious," Benaquist said.

Describing how welcoming she was with prospective students, he said, "People were enchanted with her."

Condon echoed him.

"She was one of those people that helped people to realize their potential," he said. "By the time she was done talking to you, she made you feel like you could conquer the world."

Phillips' son said the family is planning a memorial service for mid to late summer.

Anika Clark can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1432, or aclark@keenesentinel.com

I will truly miss her.